By Jeremy Scott | OurSumter | October 18, 2026
Bushnell water customers received a notice saying the city missed required testing for lead and copper during the first half of 2026.
The notice lists zero samples taken during the required January 1–June 30 testing period. It says samples were collected in September instead.
This is a failure to complete required monitoring. The notice does not establish that lead or copper exceeded an action level during the missed period. But without the required tests, residents are missing information they should have had.
The city’s website lists the drinking-water notice under September 22, 2026. The notice identifies State Water System ID 6600210.
What the city says happened
According to the notice, Bushnell brought a water plant back into service after it had been offline for five years.
The city says there was miscommunication among the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the city, and its utilities contractor, Woodard & Curran. That confusion involved the number of required samples and the timing of the plant’s return to service.
The notice says samples were collected in December 2025 and again in September 2026. It also says sampling schedule documents have been updated to help prevent another failure.
That is the city’s account. The notice does not identify which plant returned to service, its restart date, or who was responsible for making sure the testing was completed on time.
What do the results show?
The notice gives numerical results for December 2025. It lists a maximum lead result of 0.0010 milligrams per liter and a copper result of 0.21 milligrams per liter. The city says those samples met standards at the time they were collected.
The notice also says the city has no record of reportable lead or copper levels in its samples. However, it does not provide the September 2026 numerical results, the number of samples collected, or the full laboratory reports.
“No reportable levels” should not be read as proof that no lead or copper was detected. The underlying results are needed to show exactly what was measured.
Tests taken later also cannot tell residents exactly what was in their water during the missed testing period.
Why the testing matters
DEP explains that lead and copper can enter drinking water when plumbing materials corrode. Testing at selected homes and buildings helps check for that problem. Testing schedules can also change when a water system changes its source or treatment. DEP’s explanation
Bushnell’s notice tells residents that no action is needed at this time. It is a monitoring notice, rather than a boil-water advisory.
What residents still deserve to know
The next step is to review the records behind the notice:
● The complete December 2025 and September 2026 laboratory results.
● How many samples were required and how many were collected.
● Which plant restarted and when.
● When the missed testing was discovered and reported to DEP.
● Whether DEP has formally determined that the violation is corrected.
● Who is now responsible for tracking each testing deadline.
The notice also includes a footnote about volatile organic compounds, although its table lists lead and copper. That wording needs clarification. The footnote alone does not establish that those other chemicals were found or that testing for them was missed.
Residents deserve clear results and a clear explanation of how required testing fell through the cracks. The notice establishes a monitoring failure. It does not establish a connection to the Heart of Florida landfill or its injection-well project.
Sources
● City of Bushnell drinking-water notice, dated September 22, 2026, provided by a resident; official city posting.
● Florida DEP: Monitoring Lead and Copper in Florida Drinking Water.
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